Homesick.

I'm going to premise this post by saying I absolutely love where I'm at in life.  I love my husband, my job, my home, my pups; I am totally happy here.  However, every once in a while I get hit with a wave of home-sickness and I find myself missing the silliest of things about my family and friends at home!

• Mom waking me up early in the morning clanging around in the kitchen.
• Dad's famous sayings:
• "Drive fast, you know how I worry."
• "We don't accept phone calls after 9:00."
• "Yes, Lindsays' home....oh!  You want to talk to her?"
• "Go play in the road."
• The view from our picture windows.

• Brandi bed hopping through the night.
• Waving at every single car you meet because you know the driver - not just to be polite.
• Dairy farms
• The sugar shack across the street
• Driving around the lake

• Knowing that any given Friday, the bowling alley will be hopping.
• The fact that the entire town shows up to the basketball games.
• Soccer country
• The crisp, humid-free air
• Mom asking where I'm going, where I've been, and when I'll be home.
• Speeding up the mountain
• Riding the ferry on a choppy lake
• Walking through Downtown Essex Day
• The random events my brother and I make each and every night

• Sandwiches from The Village Meat Market
• Ubu Ale
• Walking through the snow in Lake Placid

• Girl Scout Rd. (only Jessy Poo will know about this one)
• The room with the circle window at Mimi's
• Cold Brooke Camp
• The freezing temperatures and the feet of snow

I hear my students say things like, "I can't wait to get out of here."  I was once that student.  I wished my way out of my town.  All along people told me I would miss it.  They assured me I would be back.  

It's not until you are away that you realize the blessings you had while growing up.  I never noticed the beauty, literally, right outside my window until I moved away and came home to visit.  I never paid attention to the tree line or the lake edge as a teen be-bopping around the Point.  I would get so frustrated with my mom always wanting to know where I was and I took for granted the time I got with both my parents and my brother.

So, even though I'm happy in North Carolina and even though I have no intentions of leaving, I do miss home.  I do get home sick.  I was so blessed to grow up in a beautiful piece of America, with amazing parents, and friends.  I'm so glad I have a place to miss like this.